Time to take time out : Getting your brain rebooted

Albert Einstein stated that
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful
servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten
the gift.” When we forget that gift, we cannot expect the way we treat others –
or ourselves – to be as constructive a force as it should.

We shoulder unreasonable
deadlines, put in 14-hour days, and routinely skip lunch. We can’t sleep. Our
necks hurt, our eyes hurt, our hands hurt, our shoulders hurt. We run out of
physical, intellectual, and emotional energy. As glorious as our technology is,
it has become a leash that makes it impossible to separate what we do from who
we are.

Yet it need not be so.

Meditation is like flossing
our teeth. We all know it’s good for us and that we should floss daily.
Usually, though, we tell ourselves we just do not have time for it. And what,
if anything, does meditation have to do with interpersonal skills and manners,
much less business success?

The goal is to live in the
moment, which is the only reality we know. That means clearing our heads of the
noise, confusion, and clutter that sends us back ruminating over our past or
into the fantasy that is the future.

Athletes call it
visualization, which is simply a positive mental rehearsal of what they are
about to do. Whatever you wish to call it, meditation has as much to do with
effective human performance as Shakespeare has to do with literature.

In his Harvard Business
Review article, “You’re Working Too Hard,” Dr. Benson argues that by getting
our minds off whatever problems we are trying to solve, we reboot our brains
and ultimately arrive at longer-lasting solutions more easily.

That really is as simple as
breathing. Take deep, relaxing breaths: inhale deeply through your nose,
letting your abdomen expand like a balloon, thus allowing more space in your
chest for inspired air; as you exhale slowly through your nose or mouth, let
your abdomen deflate. You don’t have to exaggerate either the inhalation or the
exhalation; your body knows what to do.

Your mind will not stay blank.
Rather than fighting your thoughts, simply do not follow them. Instead, let
thoughts come and go, and keep returning to your breath. The goal here is to
connect with your intuition, the sacred gift, as Einstein calls it, and not
tether yourself to the rational mind, the faithful servant.

Meditation is merely the
practice of being quiet, turning your attention inward, and focusing your mind.
Once we connect with our intuitive mind, we then are able to put our thoughts
to work making better choices that result in more effective behaviour.

So, you might wonder, what
is our time investment here? It only takes a moment. When I was in Saudi
Arabia, one very accomplished scientist, on extreme overload from professional
and family demands, allowed me to test the argument. We set our smartphone
timers for one minute. We closed our eyes and did some belly breathing. When
the alarm rang, she was refreshed and better equipped to handle the immediate
challenges ahead.

I
ask you, can there be a greater Return On Investment for a single moment spent
getting our brain rebooted?

Perhaps marshaling our personal technology is not quite the same as heeding the
haunting call to prayer. Yet, for me at least, pausing thus is just as
profound.

Try it.

(Mary M. Mitchell has written several books on the
subject of etiquette, now in 11 languages, most recently “The Complete Idiot’s
Guide to Modern Manners Fast Track” and “Woofs to the Wise”. She is the founder
of executive training consultancy The Mitchell Organization
(www.themitchellorganization.com)